Doctor's Duty
by BeautifulAlice
Summary: Being the new head of medicine made Keller aware of just how busy Carson actually was before he...well, now she was just as busy as he was, and she really needed sleep.


**Doctor's Duty**

**_ Alice_**

Summary: Keller's exhausted from taking over the head position of medicine on Atlantis. And while the team is waiting for one of their own to recover, they step in to help her out.

Spoilers: takes place a few weeks after 'Sunday'.

Word Count: 1,000

Rated: K+

* * *

Keller was at her desk again, and she found that her desk was rapidly becoming another type of 'home' that she could get used to.

She had found that being at her desk was a comfort, especially after dealing with going offworld to help teams, and the worst and best times were when she'd gone with SGA1. It was the worst, because generally when she was along with them they were _always_ injured in some form or another, sometimes nearly killed even. It was the best, because it was the most adventurous that she'd ever had in her life. And she got to fly in the spaceships, and see monsters, and other things that one could only _dream_ about back on Earth.

Sometimes, she was uncertain whether she was wanted here, and these were one of those times. For as she was watching the four people bunched together in one corner of the infirmary-three conscious and one not-she wondered if she was perhaps doing the right thing by being here. She knew she wasn't doing a bad job-everyone apparently said so-but she wished that Carson were here, because he was better at it than she was, and he helped the team a lot more, and…she just felt that she was insignificant, and that sometimes the team resented her for replacing Carson. She knows that she resents _herself_ for replacing him, when no one else in the infirmary had stepped up and she'd been the first one to try to help.

She shook her head, and tried to rub sleep out of her eyes. She was tired; she'd not been sleeping these past weeks when she'd gotten to become the Head of Medicine. She knew that she was going to have to get more than three or four hours of sleep soon. But there was too much to do, too many patients that needed her right now. And she didn't want to let anyone down. Marie, her second, came over to her and looked at her with a frown.

"Doc, you're supposed to be sleeping," Marie said quietly.

"I'm fine, just finishing paperwork." She said, on autopilot. "I'll check on Dr. McKay again, here in a moment. Then I'll likely go and get some sleep, provided nothing happens." She added, and Marie half-sighed.

"You work yourself too hard, Dr. Keller." She said gently.

To that, she didn't say anything; instead, she pushed her papers aside. Marie was right, but she was going to see her patients first.

"I'm going to check on Dr. McKay, and then I'll go get sleep." She said, knowing she wasn't likely to sleep for more than three or four hours. She didn't know how Carson had stood it, really, all these people needing her. And while she didn't mind, she was_ tired_ of being needed sometimes. Just sometimes.

"All right, doc." Marie said with a slow nod. "But if you're not in bed after a few minutes of checking him over, then I'm going to have to place you on medical arrest." She said with a sincere look on her face that Keller thought that she actually meant it. "It's been three weeks since Carson…since you became Head of Medicine, and you haven't slept more than three or four hours at a time, right?" She asked, sounding serious.

Keller sighed.

"I can't," She said miserably. "There are too many people that need my help, and…and I don't want to let Carson…let them down…"

Marie looked as though she were about to say something, when Sheppard's voice cut in towards them.

"Hey, we can hear you both over there."

"Sorry, sorry." Keller said, apologizing quickly even though she had no idea _why_ she was apologizing for talking a bit louder than usual. "Er, let me check Dr. McKay's vitals-there's been no change?" She knew there hadn't been; else, the team would've called her.

"Hey…doc…" Sheppard began, and Teyla took over when he faltered a bit as she began to methodically work on checking over Dr. McKay.

"Jennifer," Teyla said softly, taking her aside. "We are worried about you. You are very tired, and you need your rest. Let your staff take care of things for a while." Teyla began to place her in the bed next to Dr. McKay's, and she felt as though it were hard to resist.

"But there's-" She began to protest, and then let out a soft sigh as her head hit the pillow. Oh, that felt nice. She felt herself beginning to fall asleep. "You'll wake me if there's any serious change with Dr. McKay?"

Marie frowned, but Ronon spoke, his rumbly voice making her think of her dad.

"Of course."

She shut her eyes, but then opened them quickly.

"Oh, wait, someone should tell Dr. Weir-" She began quickly, and Teyla took her hand.

"I will take care of things while you're asleep, Dr. Keller. Do not worry so," Teyla said with a smile.

And with that, she slowly slipped into sleep, thinking that even though she was the head doctor on Atlantis, she had her doctor's duty to herself to consider as well.

And that she ought to take a page out of Carson's book, and let the staff-her staff-run things from time to time.

So with a quiet sigh, she slipped easily into sleep, feeling as though she'd finally earned her own bit of rest.

And when she woke up later, Atlantis would still be waiting for her.

And that, more than anything, made her smile as she closed her eyes, and slept.

_**End.**_

_****_Note: Tribute to Carson and a more in-depth look at Keller, one of my favorite characters.


End file.
